Grok was a Heavy Boozer??? page

[shoreline]

I find it interesting as I read more of the Paleo lifestyle that a "glass of wine or two OCCASIONALY" is ok. My gut tells me old Grok was a heavy boozer and druggie making homemade hooch of fermented berries etc. People have been trying to escape reality since the beginning of time.
Most recently I have been reading of the Tarahumara.
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The consumption of alcohol plays a key role in Tarahumara society. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that almost every social activity that the Tarahumara engage in includes tesgüino. From organizing communal labor to performing marriage ceremonies, the role of tesgüino in Tarahumara culture is crucial. In fact, the use of alcoholic beverages is often cited as the defining characteristic of Tarahumara culture. Kennedy (1963:635) states that, “it is no exaggeration to estimate that the average Tarahumara spends at least 100 days per year directly concerned with tesguino and much of this time under its influence or aftereffects.” The creation of tesgüino is a simple process that all households perform on a regular basis. The Tarahumara call tesgüino batári, sugíki, or paciki depending on how the brew is prepared. Sugíki is the general term for alcoholic beverages made from fermented maize, while batári is maize beer made with a particular catalyst of the same name; paciki refers to tesgüino made from fresh corn stalks (Pennington 1963:149-150). The varieties of tesgüino made from maize are the most important, but the Tarahumara also make similar drinks from agave hearts or stalks, cactus fruits, berries, peaches, apples, crabapples, wheat, and Mesquite seeds (Pennington 1963:149-157).

[Grumpycakes]

People have been trying to escape reality since the beginning of time.

Gonna need a citation on that, buddy. The desire to escape reality comes from a dualistic worldview that is based on self vs. other, that the "other," be it other people or all of nature is alien and, if it's not simply neutral and unfeeling, it's out to get you. That worldview comes from civilized societies that have become disconnected from natural processes and from intimate social bonds that would be found in small hunter-gatherer tribes. In other words, when you are at peace with the world, you don't feel the need to indulge in some intoxicating substance to disconnect you from any kind of harsh reality.

Sure, Grok probably knew about and incorporated hallucinogenic plants and fermented fruit every now and then, but to do so on a regular basis would compromise his survival. We civilized people can afford to be smashed 100 days of the year; Grok couldn't. Besides, nomadic Groks would have to find some way to ferment on the go. Is that easy? I don't know.

[queen_sheba]

i reckon he was on the magic mushrooms and cannabis too...

[iniQuity]

I'm down with the idea of very primitive people (NOT the Tarahumara, whom I wouldn't consider to be a good modern representation of "Grok") did perhaps engage in celebratory let's-get-messed-up-ness but like Grumpy Caveman said I doubt it was an all the time thing. I wonder though, if there were indeed "stoner groks" that didn't contribute much and just ran away with other gatherer's fruits, probably spent his/her time throwing rocks and giggling. I could absolutely see some of them getting hooked or just liking it a little too much, who knows how those species interacted and whether that type of behavior was tolerated or not.

The Tarahumara like to get drunk and run, pretty simple people.

[periquin]

When a cat dives on any catnip is it trying to escape reality? Is it only civilized cats that want to indulge?